78 MEMOIES OF THE DUKE OF SAINT-SIMON.

King, and possessed of his confidence, related once to me and
Madame de Saint-Simon, a very important anecdote referring
to this time. He said that the King, talking to him privately
of the Pere La Chaise, and praising him for his attachment,
related one of the great proofs he had given of it. A few years
"before his death the Pere said that he felt getting old, and that
the King might soon have to choose a new confessor; he
begged that that confessor might be chosen from among the
Jesuits, that he knew them well, that they were far from
deserving all that had been said against them, but—still—he
knew them well—and that attachment for the King and desire
for his safety induced him to conjure him to act as he requested;
because the company contained many sorts of minds and
characters which could not be answered for, and must not be
reduced to despair, and that the King must not incur a risk—
that in fact an unlucky blow is soon given, and had been given
before then. Marshal turned pale at this recital of the King,
and concealed as well as he could the disorder it caused in
him. We must remember that Henry IV. recalled the Jesuits,
and loaded them, with gifts merely from fear of them. The
King was not superior to Henry IV. He took care not to
forget the communication of the P&re La Chaise, or expose
himself to the vengeance of the company by choosing a con-
fessor out of their limits. He wanted to live, and to live
in safety. He requested the Dues de Chevreuse and de Beau-
villiers to make secret inquiries for a proper person. They fell
into a trap made, were dupes themselves, and the Church and
State the victims.

The P&re Tellier, in fact, was chosen as successor of P&re
La Chaise, and a terrible successor he made. Harsh, exact,
laborious, enemy of all dissipation, of all amusement, of
all society, incapable of associating even with his colleagues,
he demanded no leniency for himself and accorded none
to others. His brain and his health were of iron : his
conduct was so also ; his nature was savage and cruel.
He was profoundly false, deceitful, hidden under a thousand
folds; and when he could show himself and make himself